Band reformations are a curious and strange thing. If any moderately successful band have ever come to an end, its almost inevitably the rule that eventually they come back to the stage; and the list is almost endless....

Replacing Queensryche at short notice are NWOBHM legends, Diamond Head. Famously much loved by Metallica, who made their cover of "Am I Evil?" a signature part of their set for every gig even in stadiums, Diamond Head are so much more than you could have dreaded - Without the lead singer Sean Harris, and retaining only 20% of original members with guitarist Brian Tatler being the sole survivor, you would be justified in feeling a little anxious about the validity of it all. Fear not; tonight sees a band thats been playing together for years (this line up, singer excepted, first played together in 1990), tight as hell, efficient and sharp. It might not look like a good idea on paper, but on stage it all clicks together perfectly. New singer Nick Tart is a note perfect replacement, the band tight and rehearsed to perfection, and the songs are stone cold classics. "Sucking My Love" - later ripped off by Metallica for "Seek And Destroy", "Helpless" and "Ami I Evil?" (all bookending the set) are not only their best known, but also their best songs. "Am I Evil" in particular goes down well, and features quite possibly the best guitar solo in the history of mankind - managing to be both a guitar solo and harmony at the same time, all built around classical scales. Lets not beat around the bush here - Diamond Head tonight were one of the tightest bands I've ever seen, with a setlist filled with classic rock standards - they should be bigger. They certainly deserve to be. Now, if the record companies were perhaps to re-release the albums people have been looking for for years on CD, they could be...

Very few bands can survive the death of their frontman, singer, and survive. AC/DC are one example - Queen, The Doors, are not. Thin Lizzy, accordingly, will always be standing in the long shadow of Philip Lynott - singer, bassist, songwriter, rock star and icon; following his death in 1986, he has been romanticized legend. Tonight sees a reformed Thin Lizzy with guitarist Scott Gorham (who joined Thin Lizzy in 1974), fronted by latter day Lizzy guitarist John Sykes (ex-Whitesnake),and with Marco Mendoza on bass (ex-Whitesnake), and a man hewn from the very granite of rock itself on drums, Tommy Aldridge (erm....also ex-Whitesnake; do we see a pattern emerging here?). In many ways then - despite the absence of drummer Brian Downey (who left the reformation line up in 2000) and thus having no original members - this is the same band (or as close as possibly as can be) to the latter days of Thin Lizzy, and the same lineup that has been together on and off over the last decade. Designed as a tribute to the life and the man of Philip Lynott, Thin Lizzy are a celebration of the past.

With their stated aim of playing the entire of 1978's mammoth double "Live And Dangerous" album - albeit not by entirely recreating but revisiting it - tonight Thin Lizzy pack their set with a few surprises - such as omitting two of their most well known songs, The Rocker and Whiskey In the Jar yet managing to retain a drum solo -  the exact same drum solo the same drummer did last year for Whitesnake.And yet its not their recreation of Live and dangerous as you might think, in a different running order and omitting songs such as “Johnny the Fox”.

Its a no frills rock n’ roll show just from back in the day – In terms of recreating the seventies, its a refreshing change to see the lighting rig set up just like the good ol' days, avoiding flashy new technology. Which means no lasers, no video backdrops, no strobes - just a bank of lights and a bank of Marshall stacks. With a setlist packed full of songs you always knew you loved, John Sykes gives an outstanding performance showing exactly why he was the talented one behind Whitesnakes "1987" masterpiece - yet here, he is definitely his own man, but living in the shadow of a legend he could never replace. Nor would he want to. Its about playing tribute to a friend he respected.

With a setlist closely resembling their previous reformation tours, as documented on 2000's "One Night Only" release, Thin Lizzy come out all guns blazing and there's hardly a let up as hit after hit get rolled out, all tremendously received. Sykes works the crowd like a pro, and the gig has an  air of fresh retro that has to be seen to be believed.Tight and professional, you know its good when even the lighting guy is playing air guitar. Live favourites, much loved album tracks and hit singles all played back to back, anthemic and as fist punching as they were thirty years ago from the opening “Jailbreak” to the closing multi-part epic that is “Black Rose”.  (Mind you, if as the lyircs say - ‘tonight there’s gonna be a jailbreak, somewhere in this town’, I’d suggest you look at the jail first though. Just a hint)

Double Guitar harmonies interwine and interplay off each other – a trick Thin Lizzy originated and stolen by a million bands after them (after all, its what made Iron Maiden sound the way they do), to brilliant effect – such as on the poignant “Massacre” and “Suicide”; and also giving the band their unique sound as on “Emerald”. The signature tune “Still In love with You” shows exactly why John Sykes was recruited into Whitesnake – it being such an obvious precursor to that bands “Ain’t No love in the heart of the city”. And the surprisingly melodic “Southbound” shows the band as having far more light and shade than many of their peers, and far more than what most people would think of the band, which is the bluster of the by now ubiqtious and slightly inevitable “Boys are Back in Town” – which good as it is, is as much as millstone around the bands neck as any.

But its when the band rock out that they are at their best. The double punch of “Rosalie” and the magnificently crunchy “Cold Sweat” – an underappreciated, often overlooked rock classic which could rank with any band - show Thin Lizzy  at their finest- a hard rockin’ band that at their best,  could wipe the floor with any of the competition. Less of a retro nostalgia show than a celebration of what was, and whilst its never ever going to be the same without the legend that was Phillip Lynott -  it’s the closest you’ll ever get to it, and damn fine it is too.  A tribute to the man and a damn fine rockin’ night out in its own right, along with a support band who are tight as hell   - is a package where the band live up to their monumental legacy.

Thin Lizzy – a damn fine band, and a damn fine night out of rock n’ roll at its best.

Setlist:-

JAILBREAK / WAITING FOR AN ALIBI / DON'T BELIEVE A WORD / ARE YOU READY / WARRIORS / EMERALD / BAD REPUTATION / DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT / MASSACRE / STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU / SOUTH BOUND / SHA LA LA / DRUM SOLO / SUICIDE / BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN /

encore:-ROSALIE / COLD SWEAT

encore:-BLACK ROSE